Strange Worlds
by junodog
Summary: Wolfram is on a search for Yuri when he comes across two strange boys who speak a different language. Crossover with Fullmetal Alchemist. mangabased.
1. Chapter 1

So this is an old story that I don't update all that often because I've honestly begun to lose interest in it. Of course, I'm still planning on finishing it (because this one actually has a somewhat feasible plot), I'm just not sure when that'll happen. And here are some notes on the story that should hopefully prevent certain types of reviews that really don't need to be added:

No, I have not heard of Anissina's invention. I started writing this over two years ago and I have not watched Kyou Kara Maoh in its entirety. And no, I am not going to add that in there because I have better things to do with my free time than edit a _fanfiction_ chapter from forever ago.

Yes, Ed and Al do speak English in the manga. All signs, letters, and even codes are in English, and Arakawa herself has said in an interview that the country of Amestris is based in part on early 20th Century industrial England. And if that's not enough for you, then remember that _this is a fanfiction and I am taking artistic license with everything._

Yes, I'm ranting, but I know the FMA manga canon pretty damn well so don't try to call me out on canon mistakes because most people who do that are actually _wrong_, which I find to be hilarious at times and irritating at others_._ This is not the FMA anime. This is the manga. There are a lot of differences. If you're an anime-only person and something seems wrong to you, then check to see whether it's part of the manga first instead of yelling at me. If there's something wrong with the Kyou Kara Maoh canon, then remember that I've only watched the first season and that I am lazy as hell when it comes to certain stories before you start yelling at me.

Anyhow, enjoy.

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The sun shone brightly as Wolfram led his troops down a gentle slope, continuously looking for a sign of Yuri. The Demon King had managed to get himself lost again.

After a while, one of his scouts spotted something interesting in the distance. Two people, a young boy and a suit of armor, were walking together. They seemed very confused.

Wolfram looked with interest at the two. The boy had blonde hair, and was wearing a red coat. The armor was covered with spikes, and was the first to see Wolfram's group. The boy noticed them after the armor stopped.

Wolfram decided to ride up to the two. They seemed more interested in the presence of a group of horses than they should have. Wolfram's suspicion had been aroused.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing?" he asked as he rode up to the odd twosome. The boy blinked and looked at Wolfram as if he were crazy. Then he spoke quickly to his brother, in a language that Wolfram didn't understand.

Wolfram sighed and got off his horse. He walked up to the boy and spoke slowly. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" he said again. The boy looked even more confused and spoke in his strange language once again. He sounded just as confused as he looked.

Wolfram turned to one of his more trusted soldiers, who had also gotten off of his horse. "What are we going to do with these two?" he asked in an aggravated tone.

The soldier looked at the two with interest. "We should take them with us. Maybe someone at the castle will have an idea."

Wolfram looked back at the boy and sighed. He gestured for the two to follow him as he walked back to his horse. The armor stepped forward, but the boy didn't move. The armor looked at the boy and spoke, once again in the unknown language. The boy responded sharply in the language, casting suspicious glances at Wolfram and his men. The armor spoke again, and before Wolfram could quite understand what was going on, the two had begun a fight.

Wolfram rolled his eyes and got off his horse. He pulled a sword out and placed against the boy's chest. "Maybe you'll understand this," he said.

Instead of frightening the boy, Wolfram's actions caused the boy to get all defensive. The boy brought his hands together, and before Wolfram could understand what had happened, a brilliant light encircled the boy's right arm, and a blade came out from his sleeve. The armor cried out, but the boy said something in response that made the armor shake his head in dismay.

By the time Yuri had randomly found the group, several soldiers had gotten a hold of the boy. Yuri walked up to Wolfram, casting a confused glance at the armor.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We found these two out here. They don't seem to speak our language, so I had been planning on taking them back to the castle to see if we could figure something out, but it didn't work. That boy doesn't seem to understand that we didn't mean any harm."

"It probably didn't help that you pointed your blade at him, sir," said one of the soldiers. Wolfram ignored him as Yuri looked with curiosity at the boy, who was getting more and more desperate. After a while, the armor seemed to have had enough of the boy's actions and stepped in.

Yuri seemed surprised as the armor spoke to the boy. Wolfram was surprised to see the boy calm down after the armor's apparent lecture. He looked at Yuri, who stared at the armor.

"I recognize that language," Yuri said. "I think it's English."

Both Wolfram and the armor looked at Yuri. The armor spoke again. Yuri looked rather embarrassed, and spoke to the armor, in what seemed to be a very poor version of the language. The armor looked with surprise at the Demon King, but seemed to understand what Yuri had said.

"What did you say?" Wolfram asked.

"Oh, I just told him I don't speak English. It's one of the only things I know how to say in English."

"Is that a language from your world?" Wolfram asked as they made their way to the castle. The boy's arms had been bound tightly, and he looked very irritated as they moved forward. Since the armor seemed to understand the situation, he was left free, and walked next to the boy. Occasionally, they would speak to each other, but for the most part, they were quiet.

"Yeah, from America, where I was born." At that point, Yuri seemed to realize something, because he got very excited. "Conrad! Conrad should be able to communicate with them!"

Wolfram looked at the Demon King for a while. "But he's gone at the moment, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Yuri looked back at the two foreigners. "Well, what are you going to do with those two until he gets back?"

Wolfram stared at the boy for a moment. "We'll have to imprison them for now. It's impossible to know what their intentions are without knowing anything about them."

"Both of them? The armor seems nice enough."

"That doesn't mean anything." Wolfram noticed the look on Yuri's face and sighed. "Look, it's not like we'll treat them badly or anything. It's just for security."

-------------

"I wonder what their names are," Yuri said as they walked down the hall, away from the dungeon where the two had been imprisoned.

Wolfram shrugged. "Why don't you ask?"

"But there's a language barrier!"

"So? Just use sign language."

A light bulb seemed to turn on in Yuri's head, and he raced back to the dungeon. He stopped in front of the boy's cell and pointed to himself.

"Yuri," he said as he pointed at himself. The boy looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yuri," Yuri said again, pointing to himself. Then he pointed at the boy with a question on his face. The boy seemed to understand what Yuri meant at that point. He pointed at himself and spoke.

"Edward. Edward Elric," he said. Then he pointed at the cell next to him, where the armor was. "Alphonse Elric."

"Edward?" Yuri repeated. The boy nodded. Yuri smiled. At least they knew a little bit about each other, even if it wasn't much. Yuri was about to ask Edward a question in broken English when he heard a voice from the top of the stairs. Wolfram was shouting his name. Yuri shrugged apologetically at Edward and ran up to meet Wolfram.

"You could have warned me that you were going right now."

"Ah, sorry."

"So, did you learn their names?"

"Yeah, the boy is Edward Elric and the armor is Alphonse Elric. Do you think they're related?"

"Most likely."

--------------

Ed sat quietly in the cell for a long time before his brother spoke. "Brother? Are you okay?" Al asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have no idea what's going on right now."

"Well, that black-haired kid seemed to at least recognize our language, so maybe we'll be able to talk to someone who understands us soon."

"But why did they bring us here?"

"Think about it, brother. We're fairly suspicious looking, and we don't even speak their language. They're probably just keeping us here until they can figure out a way to communicate."

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't worry, brother. If they were thinking of us as enemies, they'd be treating us a little harsher, wouldn't they?"

"They freaking tied me up!"

"Brother, you weren't exactly acting trustworthy. Maybe if you had listened to me in the first place-"

"That's another thing. How do we know they're just waiting to find a way to communicate with us? What if this is a trap?"

"If it were a trap, wouldn't they have spoken to us in our own language?"

Ed sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument, so he gave up. "Either way, I just don't like being locked up like this."

They heard a door open, and the Yuri walked up to Ed's cell. Ed looked up at the black haired boy without much interest. Yuri handed Ed a piece of paper and a pen. Ed looked at him with confusion.

"How… old… are… you…?" he asked, clearly struggling with the language. He pointed at the paper in Ed's hand. Ed looked at Yuri before writing down the number fifteen and showing it to him. Yuri nodded and pointed over at Al's cell. Ed nodded and wrote fourteen on the paper. As Yuri looked at the number, his face showed a lot of disbelief. He looked back at Ed, as if expecting Ed to laugh or something.

Ed sighed in aggravation and drew a bad version of his brother's armor on the paper. Then he put an equal sign that connected the picture to the number. He showed it to Yuri again.

Yuri nodded, confusion showing in his face. Then his eyes fell on Ed's right arm. Ed looked at it. His sleeve had shifted, revealing the automail beneath. Ed moved his arm and pulled off his glove. He held his hand out for Yuri to look at. Yuri stared at the automail for several minutes. He began poking it and examining it from all angles.

After a minute or two, Ed heard loud footsteps approaching. Yuri let go of Ed's arm as a tall man with grayish-white hair came running toward him. He engulfed Yuri in a hug and began speaking to him. Yuri pulled back and spoke to the man before looking back at Ed. He pointed at the man and said, "Gunter."

Ed nodded and looked at Gunter. The man smiled awkwardly before speaking to Yuri again. Yuri nodded and followed Gunter out of the dungeon, leaving Ed alone with his brother once again.

----------------

"Brother?"

"Hmm?"

"I thought you would have tried getting away from here by now."

Ed lay staring at the ceiling, his head resting on his arms. "I've been thinking about it." He heard a door opening in the distance, but his mind didn't register that noise.

"Then what's made you sit still for so long? It's not like you."

"Think about it, Al. What point would there be in trying to escape? We don't know where we are, and we don't know anything about this place, let alone how to get home. Besides, how good would it look if I tried something like that without being able to explain myself if I got caught?"

"You mean when, don't you?" a voice asked from the other side the bars. Ed sat up and looked at the man standing there. He held his hand through the bars as he introduced himself. "You can call me Conrad. You're Edward, right?" His English wasn't perfect, but at least he spoke it. Ed took the hand in relief.

"Yeah."

"My king sent me down here. He doesn't like that you two are stuck down here, but we can't afford to take any risks."

"Your king?" Ed asked in confusion.

"You've met him before. His name is Yuri."

"Wait, you mean he's a king?"

"Yes, he's the Demon King."

"Demon King?"

"You two are humans, right? Where are you two from?"

Ed was momentarily quiet, so Al spoke for him. "We're from a country called Amestris."

"I've never heard of that country. Does everyone there speak English?"

"Yeah."

Conrad looked at the two brothers before unlocking the door of Ed's cell. He did the same for Al and gestured for the two to follow him.

"Wait, you're letting us out?" Ed asked.

"I'm not letting you go, but I don't see any point of making you feel like you've done something wrong. I think there's a need to talk more about this situation with someone who's also from a different world."

"Eh?" the two brothers said at the same moment. "Different world?" Ed asked.

"Yes, from what I can tell, you're not from this world, which is probably why you're so confused."

"Wait, how do you know our language then?"

"Because I've been to another world where English is a popular language. It's interesting that two different worlds would have that particular language in common, though."

Ed lowered his head. "So you're not from our world?"

"No, but there have to be similarities between your world and the world that Yuri's from. Coincidentally, he's from the world I mentioned before."

---------------

Yuri sat at his desk, facing Ed and Al with a semi-serious look on his face. He was trying to play the part of Demon King, but for some reason, he couldn't manage it at the moment. After another moment, Conrad broke the awkward silence by talking to Yuri.

"Is there something you want to ask them?"

Yuri looked at Ed for a moment. "Yeah, why's his arm made of metal?"

Conrad did his little translating job and turned back to Yuri. "He says it's automail, a special kind of prosthetic limb. He lost his real arm when he was eleven."

"How?"

Conrad paused when he heard Ed's reply. "The two of them made a mistake. That's all he said."

"Is that why Alphonse is wearing the armor?"

As Conrad asked this, Yuri noticed a look of sheer guilt on Ed's face.

"Yes."

Yuri stood up. "I think it's about time for a subject change. What exactly do they do on their world? Like, are they still in school, or what?"

As he listened to Conrad, Ed pulled something out of his pocket. It was a silver watch, with an unfamiliar design on it. He showed it to Yuri with an emotionless face.

"He's in the military of his country. He works as a… State Alchemist."

"Eh? Alchemy? So, he can use magic?"

"He calls it a science, so I doubt it's like the magic you're used to. It's probably complicated and hard to do."

"Can I see it?"

When Ed heard this request, he looked up at Al for a moment. Then he tapped the armor. "This is an example of it right here," he said through Conrad.

"Huh?"

Ed sighed and smacked the armor with his right arm. The resulting clang echoed, as if there wasn't anything inside. Then Al reached to take off his helmet. Yuri watched with anticipation. When he didn't see a head, he paused for a moment.

"Wait, is he hiding?"

"I don't think that's it. I think the armor's empty."

As if to confirm this statement, Al leaned over and showed Yuri the inside. Indeed, there wasn't anything inside. "Oh, so it is empty," Yuri said as he looked. Then it dawned on him. "It's EMPTY?!?!?"

"Evidently Alphonse lost his body at the same time when Edward lost his limbs. Edward managed to use alchemy to attach his younger brother's soul to the armor, but he had to sacrifice his arm to do so."

"Wait, his limbs? So what else did he lose?"

"His left leg, just above the knee."

Yuri looked again at Al's body. "I guess that explains how he could be younger than Ed, despite the height difference."

----------------

Ed had no way of proving that Yuri had just commented on his height, but he was positive that he had. He tried to jump the Demon King, but Al had managed to foresee his brother's wrath and was now holding back the small alchemist.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"He called me small!"

"How do you know?"

"Just look at him! What else could he have been saying?"

"A lot of things, brother. Calm down." Al looked apologetically at Conrad and Yuri. "Sorry about this, he's a little too sensitive about his height."

Conrad nodded. "Good to know. I'll tell His Majesty."

By the time Ed had finally calmed down, there was a knock on the door, and a little girl came in. She looked curiously at the two brothers before turning to Yuri. They talked for a couple of minutes before Yuri gave Conrad an order.

Conrad looked at the two brothers and gestured for them to leave the room. "We're going to talk with someone about your appearance in this world, so you may be able to return soon. I'll show you where you'll be staying now."

---------------

Wolfram ran after Yuri as the Demon King made his way to the Elric brothers' room. "Yuri, you realize Gunter will be freaking about this, don't you?"

"I don't see what's wrong with this. I'm just giving them a message."

"Why can't you have Conrad do it? I mean, he does speak their language, and you have more important things to do!"

Yuri sighed as he opened the door. "Conrad left this morning, remember? Besides, I'm beginning to understand a little bit of what they're saying."

Ed was sitting cross-legged on the bed when Wolfram came into the room. He looked up at the two and stood up. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I just wanted to give you a mess- wait, when did you learn our language?"

Ed opened his mouth, paused, and closed it again. "I have no idea."

"That's odd. I didn't think you'd be able to speak it."

"Isn't it obvious why?" Wolfram asked, his arms crossed. "Whoever's writing this doesn't feel like dealing with the whole language issue anymore, so they're taking the easy way out."

"Oh, that makes sense," Ed said.

"Either way, it'll be nicer this way. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something, about getting back to your world."

"What?"

"Um, well… I guess you just ended up here by accident, because there's no way for you to get back right now."

"Huh? How do you end up someplace on accident? That doesn't… Wait, there's no way for us to get home?"

"No. Sorry."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. But look on the bright side. At least you can understand us now."

"Yeah, great."

Wolfram looked at the crestfallen alchemist with a small amount of pity. Then he walked up to him and smacked him on the head. "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself. It's not like you're going to be stuck here forever."

Ed glared at Wolfram as he rubbed his head. "But did you really have to hit me?"

Wolfram sighed. "Great news, Yuri. You're not the only wimp here anymore."

"Hey!" Ed and Yuri yelled as Wolfram left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Part two… ugh, sleepy… anyhow, enjoy…

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Ed watched as his brother played with the small group of children that were visiting the castle. Yuri's daughter Greta was one of them. Yuri stood next to Ed, trying to come up with a way to break the silence.

"So, what's your rank in the military of your country?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not a regular soldier, but my status is equal to that of a Major."

"Oh, so you're pretty high up?"

"Yeah."

Yuri paused for a moment. "So, do you get involved in battles and such?"

"I haven't yet, but there's always the possibility of that happening. My country isn't exactly a peaceful one."

"Are you at war?"

"We've been at war since the current leader came into power, which was about sixty years ago. Why do you ask?"

"Since I became Demon King, I've been trying to make it so that there won't be any wars, but it's hard. The human countries are creating problems for us."

"They want war?"

"I guess so."

Ed watched as his brother's head went flying. "What exactly is the difference between demons and humans here? So far, I haven't seen any real differences."

"There aren't too many, I guess. Demons do have a longer lifespan than humans, and we can use magic, but other than that, there isn't much that separates us."

At that moment, someone came running up to Yuri. "Your Majesty, please come with me."

Yuri looked at Ed and followed the soldier away. Ed went back to watching his brother play.

An hour or so later, as the kids began to get worn out, Yuri came back. Ed looked at him with curiosity. Something seemed wrong.

"Ed, would you be willing to help me with something?"

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Sorry, Al, but you'll have to stay here. We have to stay inconspicuous."

Ed followed Yuri through the castle to the front gate. It wasn't until they had gotten on horses and were riding through the town that Ed realized Yuri had changed his outfit, including his eyes and hair. Ed decided not to question the eyes, since they were in a hurry, and Ed was barely staying on the horse.

Finally, they stopped at a dock and got off the horses. Ed followed Yuri and Wolfram onto a nearby ship. They went straight to a cabin below. Finally, Yuri decided to explain what was going on.

"We're headed into human territory. Someone managed to steal something important from us, and I thought it would be good to have a human get it back."

Ed frowned. "So you thought that I'd be good for that? Even though I have to keep my limbs hidden in this world?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that. Well, they don't know about you, so it'll probably be fine."

Ed looked over at Wolfram, who was running out of the room in a hurry. "Why did we leave in such a hurry?"

"Oh, I didn't want to have to explain my plans to Gunter. He worries a little too much at times."

Ed thought of the few times he had met Gunter and immediately sympathized with Yuri. Yuri sighed and looked out the window. "It's nice to be out of that castle for a while."

Ed sat down and stretched. "I take it you don't really like doing all the paperwork and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Paperwork's always a hassle. Especially when someone's blackmailing you into doing it for them."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Someone's blackmailed you?"

"Yeah, a few times."

"So you're a troublemaker?"

"Hey, I never went out of my way to hurt anyone. The blackmail thing comes from something big I did when I was younger… Hey, why do you care about that?"

Yuri shrugged. "If you're someone who purposely does bad things, then maybe I shouldn't have trusted you so much."

"Hey, what I did wasn't bad, it was just illegal."

"How can something illegal not be bad?"

"Sometimes you have to make rules to protect people from themselves. What we did didn't hurt anyone other than ourselves."

"What exactly did you do?"

Ed paused. "Well… something stupid. It was something we had been warned not to do, but we went ahead and did it."

There was an awkward silence in the cabin. After a while, Yuri decided to go find Wolfram, leaving Ed alone in the room. Ed sat on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't long before Conrad came running into the room.

-----------------

"Where's Yuri?" he asked Ed. He had a certain look on his face. Ed recognized that face. It was the one that people had when something bad was about to happen.

"He went looking for Wolfram. Did something happen?"

"No, not yet. Listen, I want you to stay here. If they come back before I find them, tell them to stay here and stay out of sight. The same goes for you."

"Wait, what's going on?"

Conrad looked back at Ed before leaving the cabin. "Your lives are in danger. Someone's coming after the Demon King, and somehow they heard about you as well. They probably won't kill you since you're a human, but you'd still be in trouble if you're found with the Demon King."

Ed watched in surprise as Conrad slammed the door shut. Then, not knowing what else to do, Ed sat on the floor and waited for Yuri to return. He only waited a few minutes before the door flew open, and Conrad returned with Yuri, who looked just as confused as Ed was.

"Hey, Conrad, what's going on?" Yuri asked.

"I'm concerned about your safety. Some of the passengers on this ship don't seem very trustworthy, so I think it would be best if you stayed here and didn't speak to any of them. Keep the door locked and don't let anyone in."

"Why not?"

"Because it might not be safe. I'll come back soon."

"Wait, Conr-" the door slammed in the middle of Yuri's plea, and he stood staring at the door. After a moment, he turned to Ed. "What's going on?"

"You're asking me? All I know is that we're supposed to stay here and stay hidden." Ed decided not to tell Yuri that their lives were in danger. Yuri sighed and lay down on the bed.

"There's something he isn't telling us."

Ed lay down on the other bed. "Could be. He probably has a reason for it, though."

"Ed, are you sure he didn't say anything else to you?"

"Nothing you don't already know," Ed replied._ At least, nothing you can't figure out on your own._

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?"

Ed put his hand under his chin. "Just wait for him to come back, I guess."

-----------------

Conrad and Wolfram came back late that evening. Ed had fallen asleep on the floor, so Yuri held a whispered conference with his comrades.

"What's going on?" Yuri asked for the fifth time.

"Like I said, someone may be coming after you, so it's safer for you to stay hidden until we get off the ship."

"Then what about Ed? Why does he have to stay in here too?"

"With his arm and leg being what they are, it's safer for him to stay hidden as well, just so he doesn't accidentally reveal them. After all, it's harder to change than your hair or eyes," Wolfram said.

"So? You didn't even know they were until I told you."

"But the fact that he let you see them shows that he isn't too good at hiding them, doesn't it?"

"Well, he probably didn't realize that automail doesn't exist here, so why would he have felt the need to hide it?" Conrad interjected. "At any rate, you understand why we want you to stay here, don't you?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah, I got it. What are you going to do?"

"I'll be keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Wolfram will stay here in case someone tries to come in here. I'll see you later, and be careful." Conrad looked over at Ed. "That goes for you too."

Ed waved as Conrad walked out of the room. Yuri went over to talk to him, but he was already asleep.

Wolfram looked at Ed for a moment. "I guess we should move him to a bed, huh?"

"Yeah, probably, but there are only two beds here…" Yuri paused as he realized what that meant. "I think he'll be fine right there."

Wolfram looked at Ed for a moment, completely missing Yuri's odd tone of voice. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." _Besides, it'll be nice to not have to share a bed with you,_ he thought as he fell on the bed.

----------------

Ed woke up early the next morning. He sat up and stretched, happy that sleeping on the floor hadn't made him too sore. When he looked around, he was surprised to see that he was on one of the beds. Wolfram was asleep on the one next to him, and Yuri was sitting on a chair. He was staring out the window and had a blank look on his face.

"Hey," Ed said quietly.

Yuri snapped out of his reverie and looked at Ed. "Oh, you're awake now?"

"Yeah, but wasn't I on the floor last night?"

"Oh, yeah, you were, but I moved you."

"Why?"

Yuri paused. "Uh…"

Just then, there was a pounding at the door. Ed immediately got into a defensive position, and Wolfram pulled out a sword. Wolfram walked cautiously toward the door in his pink nightgown, and Ed had to work very hard to suppress a laugh.

"Yuri, hide. You too, Ed. Don't move until I say it's okay, got it?"

Yuri looked confused, but Ed nodded. "Right," he muttered as he pushed Yuri to the floor. The two of them crawled under the bed and held their breaths. Ed heard the door crash open, and tried very hard to resist the urge to leave his hiding place.

"Déjà vu…" Yuri muttered.

"Huh?" Ed whispered back.

"I've been a situation like this before. Last time it ended up with me and Wolfram getting caught, and then some other things happened and we ended up being arrested for being demons."

Ed was about to respond when he saw a boot inches away from his face. He pulled back slightly and hit his head on a wooden support beam on the bed. "Nnggh…" Ed clutched his head and bit his lip, trying very hard not to cry out in pain. He felt something touch his foot and looked back. A cat was walking around underneath the bed, and it walked straight up to Ed's face and sat down in front of him.

"Hey, where'd that cat go?" Ed heard a voice call out. He exchanged glances with Yuri and clapped his hands together. He placed them on the ground, and the two of them were hidden from view, just as someone checked under the bed.

"Oh, here he is. Say, did you notice that flash a moment ago?"

"A flash?" Ed's ears pricked at this. The voice sounded suspicious. "Where did it come from?"

"Ah, crud," Ed muttered as he heard a boot thudding against the temporary wall he had made. Something cracked, and Ed covered his head as something broke and the bed was thrown back. When he looked up, he was looking into an unfriendly face. Ed got up and moved into a defensive stance. He looked around. Wolfram had been knocked out, and was lying on the floor nearby. Yuri was standing with his face hidden.

"Ed, don't try fighting," he said in an unusually serious voice. Ed looked at Yuri in surprise and dropped his arms. He walked silently as the two of them were led out of the cabin and onto a smaller ship.

Once below the deck of this ship, two of the men literally threw Ed into a cell. Ed hit the wall and crumpled to the ground. He put his energy into watching Yuri run into the cell after him, and his eyes closed. He was vaguely aware of someone tying his hands behind his back as he lost consciousness.

------------------

The first thing Ed saw when he woke up was a huge, well-muscled chest. He started and looked around, since he hadn't quite regained the ability to move his body yet. He was being carried in the arms of someone with reddish-orange hair. Yuri was walking next to them. They were in a forest.

Once the huge man saw that Ed was awake, he stopped walking. "He's awake now, Your Majesty. Why don't we take a break?"

Yuri stopped walking and turned around. "Yeah, sounds good."

The big guy set Ed down so that he was leaning against a tree. Ed noticed once again that he couldn't exactly move his normal limbs. His automail was working just fine, though. "What happened?" he asked.

"You remember getting caught, right?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, I remember all that."

"Well, after you were knocked out, we spent a couple nights in that ship, but then there was a storm and we ended up crashing into this island, and Josak here helped us escape."

Ed had about five hundred questions he wanted to ask, but after looking at Yuri's face, he decided to start with the basics. "Why can't I move?"

"Probably because they did something to your body," Josak replied. "They thought it would be best to keep you under control, and the easiest way to do that was to prevent any movement on your part. Then they realized you'd still be able to move your arm and leg, so they kept you unconscious. That's why you're just now waking up."

"So where are we?"

Yuri and Josak exchanged glances. "Um…" Yuri began.

Ed groaned. "You don't know, do you?"

"No, not really."

It was quiet for a moment. Ed heard voices in the distance. Josak stood up. "I guess they noticed we're not there anymore. Come on, let's go."

Ed pulled himself upright, took one step, and fell flat on his face. Josak looked at him, looked at Yuri, looked at where the voices were coming from, and pulled Ed onto his back. Then he grabbed Yuri's hand and began running through the woods. Ed held on for dear life as they ran, finally stopping at the base of a cliff that blocked their way.

"We'll have to find a place to hide," Josak said as he looked up. He put Ed down and looked around. Ed looked back at the forest they had just left.

"I could use alchemy for that," he said as he tested his leg. His body was functioning semi normally again. "We're far enough away that they wouldn't see the flash."

Josak shrugged. "Works for me. Just try not to make it too obvious, okay?"

"Right." They walked up to the base of the cliff. Ed brought his hands together and placed them against the stone. A huge cavern emerged, and the three of them walked inside. Ed made a wall behind them, leaving two cleverly hidden air holes at the top. A little bit of sunlight filtered in through the holes, giving them enough light to see each other. Ed sat down with a sigh (Well, since he still barely had control of his muscles, it was more of a falling on his face sort of thing, but you get the idea).

Josak knocked on the wall before sitting down. "Well, that's nice and solid. Good job. Now we just need to wait for a while."

"Great," Ed muttered as he pulled himself over to the wall. After a while, he realized he was hungry. Of course, nobody in the cave had food, so they had to resign themselves to the fate of going a day or two without it.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally got around to updating this one… Enjoy!

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Several hours had passed, and Ed was now doodling in the dirt with his right hand. He was the only one awake, having been asleep throughout the boat ride and such. He yawned as the sunlight began to fade. Nighttime was quickly approaching.

He began to space out as he doodled. After a while, he realized he had drawn a transmutation circle on the ground. He shook his head and wiped it away. "Wish you were here, Al," he muttered as the cavern grew dark. He heard voices on the other side of the rock wall he had made.

"The tracks end here, at the base of the cliff. It looks like they were standing around for a while, too."

"You don't think they climbed up there, do you? Especially with that boy not being able to move."

"There's a chance of it. Let's go back to the ship and get some rope."

"Hold on, if we go back, we could lose the trail, especially with those clouds up there. I think it's going to rain soon."

"Fine, we'll just have to do without."

Ed was absolutely silent as the two humans outside began scaling the Cliffside. Ed saw a flash of light through one of the holes. One of the two had a torch precariously gripped in his teeth. He paused when he saw the hole, and looked inside. Ed moved out of his view just in time, pulling Yuri out of sight as well.

"Hey, what are you stopping for?"

"There's a cave down here. Pretty big one, too."

"Well, there's no way they'd be able to get in through those tiny holes, so just forget about it."

Ed breathed a silent sigh of relief as the man continued on his way, and looked down at Yuri. There was still a minimal amount of torchlight coming in through the hole, and it reflected on Yuri's eyes. "You know, you can let go now," the Demon King said as he sat up. Ed stepped back and tripped over his feet. He fell back with a thud and a startled cry, which he cut off as soon as he remembered that there were people looking for them. The two held their breaths as they listened for a sign that Ed had been heard.

"What was that?" came a voice from above.

"Probably some animal in the woods. Just ignore it."

"No, it sounds like it came from inside that cave down there."

"Then it's probably some animal that lives there. You don't honestly think that those demons are in there, do you?"

"Remember what they said? That human has powers. He could easily have made that into a hiding place for them."

Ed wanted to bang his head on a wall, but he didn't want them to hear him, so he refrained from doing so. He stood quietly, looking up at the holes as Yuri shook Josak awake. The three of them waited in silence for something to happen, Ed and Josak both prepared to fight to defend themselves. Yuri had a sword, but he held it with uncertainty.

After a while, the two humans gave up and continued on their way. Ed breathed a silent sigh of relief and gently lowered himself to the ground. There was a long silence in the cave as they waited for the humans to get out of hearing range.

Josak sighed and turned to face Ed in the darkness. "Okay, we got lucky that time, but try to be more careful, okay?"

"Yeah."

--------------

Ed woke up with a start the next morning. Something was very wrong. He heard voices, but not ones he recognized. He tried to sit up, but something was stopping him, and as far as he could tell, he had been blindfolded.

After a moment, he could hear Yuri's voice. He sounded as confused as Ed felt. Ed tried to shift so that he could move the blindfold away, but he couldn't. He called out to Yuri, hoping that there would be an explanation for this situation. Instead, Ed felt a foot go into his chest.

"Hey, this one's awake."

"Well, make sure he can't escape and get him on the horse. We have to get out of here anyway."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ed felt someone pull him to his feet. Whoever it was forced him to walk forward, which was hard, since his right leg didn't seem to be working very well. They put him on a horse and left him there for a moment. Then someone got on behind him and grabbed the reins. Ed felt very ridiculous, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had lost control of his muscles once again.

After a while, they stopped, and Ed felt someone pull him off the horse. He stumbled forward as the person guided him to wherever they were going. Finally, they stopped, and someone took the blindfold off. Ed looked around. They were in a house. There were several people around him, including Yuri. One of them spoke to Yuri.

"So what is this human doing with you, your majesty?"

"Ah, he's a friend of mine. He agreed to help me find what I'm looking for."

"You're trusting a human?"

"Yes. I trust him."

The man shook his head. "Well, even if you trust him, it doesn't mean that he is worthy of being trusted. If we hadn't found you this morning, then you would have been caught for sure."

"But that's not his fault. He's as much of a fugitive as we are."

Ed was getting rather sick of them talking as if Ed weren't in the room, but he could barely move, and he had a blade at his neck, so he decided to let Yuri handle this.

"Your majesty, if he's a spy, then he could easily be here to kill you, or worse, hand you over to the humans. We have to do something with him."

"Like what? You aren't planning on killing him, are you?" Yuri asked angrily.

There was a brief silence. All the adults in the room had strange expressions on their faces. Ed began to worry that they were indeed planning on killing him. Finally, the one demon spoke again.

"No, not if you want him alive, but we will have to keep him under a strict guard. I'm sorry, your majesty, but it's for the best."

Yuri looked at Ed with a pained expression on his face. "Very well. Just… be nice to him, okay?"

"Of course."

They sat Ed down in a corner and brought chains out. Ed noted that they had enough sense to not allow his hands to come together. Once he was firmly chained down, the demons stepped back to look at him. "That should be fine," one of them said, and the group dispersed.

After a while, Yuri walked over to Ed and sat down next to him. "Sorry about this."

"What happened?" Ed asked.

"Apparently we got so off course that we ended up back in the Demon Kingdom. Someone found those humans and heard about us from them."

"So what now?"

"For now, we're going to stay here. Someone sent a message to Gunter, and he's going to come down here as soon as he can."

Ed was quiet for a while. "Yuri, I'm almost afraid to ask, but…"

"Where are Conrad and Wolfram? I don't really know." Yuri looked at the ceiling. "They were probably still on the ship we got taken off of, but they might have been captured, or…"

"I see."

"We'll have to look for them too."

Ed nodded. It was quiet for a while. Josak was standing nearby, but everybody else had dispersed, leaving the three of them alone in the room.

"Hey, Ed?" Yuri asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you admit that there wasn't anything inside that armor? You could have hidden it for a while."

"Yeah, I could have, but what good would that have done? You would have found out eventually, and trying to hide it would have made us look even more suspicious. I figured it was better to be honest."

Yuri paused. "So, you can bond a soul with alchemy? Is it difficult?"

"Yeah, it takes a lot of knowledge, and you have to pay a price."

"A price? Like what?"

Just then, someone came over to the two of them. "Come on, your majesty, we have food ready."

"Oh, thank goodness, I'm starving." Yuri stood up and walked away. As he got to the door, he looked back at Ed. "Um…"

"Don't worry about him. We'll get him food in a moment."

"Right…"

Ed never did get any food.

----------------

The next day passed peacefully, and Yuri went to bed late that night. He had only been asleep for an hour when someone shook him awake. It was Gunter. Gwendal was standing a fair distance behind him.

"Come on, your majesty. We're heading out now."

"Now? But it's the middle of the night!"

"Yes. We're close to the border, so it would be best to travel at night for a while."

Yuri nodded and stood up. They walked quietly through the house to the door. "Wait, what about Ed?" he asked, stopping in the doorway.

"That human? We're leaving him here," Gwendal replied.

"Why?"

"Why do you want him with us?"

"Because he can help us."

Gunter looked from Gwendal to Yuri, and finally at where Ed was sleeping in the corner. "It can't hurt to have him with us," he said as he walked over to Ed. "Besides, I have a feeling that he won't be welcome here once the Demon King has left."

Gunter gently shook Ed awake and got rid of the chains. As they walked out of the building, Yuri noticed that Ed's hands had been tied together.

"It's just a precaution, your majesty. Also, it would be best if Edward were to appear as a prisoner while we're in the Demon Kingdom. Besides, if an emergency arises, he can easily work around such restraints, right?"

Ed nodded. "That wouldn't be much of a problem."

"Good."

They got on horses and rode into the night.

--------------

Yeah, I know it's short… but it's something, right?


	4. Chapter 4

Yeah, sorry it's been so long since updating, my life's been pretty psychotic lately…

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Ed yawned as they got off the horses and set up a small camp. Since he was still playing the part of a human prisoner, they had him sit and wait next to Yuri, who apparently wasn't allowed to help either. Ed shifted his hands and looked up at the sky. The sun was rising, and the light shone on his face.

Their little camp was very well hidden. Ed looked at the surrounding wildlife and thought of his experiences on Yock Island. After a while, the warmth of the sun and the boulder he was leaning against made him sleepy, and he fell asleep before breakfast.

"How the heck can he do that?" Yuri asked as he looked at Ed, who was so far gone that it would be impossible to wake him without attracting attention from elsewhere. Having nothing else to do, he began nudging Ed with his foot, seeing if the alchemist would wake up.

"Stop that," Gunter said. Yuri stopped and watched as Ed rolled over in his sleep.

"I thought he'd be too hungry to fall asleep just yet."

Gwendal looked at Ed with his typical angry face. "As long as he doesn't get in our way, he can do whatever he wants."

----------------

_Edward, why am I like this? How could you put me in such a body? I wanted to see you again, but not like this. I'm in pain, Edward._

"_No, I didn't mean to… I… I didn't want this to happen."_

_You've hurt Alphonse too. How could you do that to your only brother? All he ever did when you were young was look up to you._

"_I didn't mean to!"_

_You hurt us both. You took advantage of your brother. Now he's suffering in an empty shell._

"_I'm going to fix it, I promise!"_

A hand came toward Ed's face._ And what are you going to do for me? Are you going to leave me like this forever?_

"_I… I don't know what to do… I'm sorry."_

The hand had a firm grip on Ed's shoulder._ You're a failure, Edward. I thought you'd take after your father, but you don't._

Ed panicked. He took the hand and forced it away from his body… and heard a yelp of pain a few feet away from him. He sat up. The sun was going down, and Gunter was sitting on the ground nearby, clutching his nose. Yuri was standing nearby.

"Wow, you really nailed him, Ed."

---------------

"Okay, once again, I did not mean to do that."

"Excuse me? How do you break someone's nose without meaning to?"

"I was asleep! How the heck was I supposed to know you were standing there?"

"I was trying to wake you up!" Gunter's voice softened a bit. "You seemed like you were in pain. Were you having a bad dream?"

Ed looked down at his hands. They had been bound together more tightly than usual. Ed had the feeling that Gunter was trying to get back at him, but he didn't care. "Yeah."

"What was it about?"

Ed squirmed uncomfortably on the horse. "Something from the past. It's no big deal."

"It has to be a pretty big deal if you manage to break someone's nose because of it," Yuri remarked from the back of Gwendal's horse.

"It's a survival instinct," Ed snapped.

"But do you really need to use your right hand for that?"

Ed shrugged and looked forward. Yuri looked around before turning back to Ed.

"Hey, what did you do as a kid? Like for fun and stuff."

Ed looked with confusion at Yuri. "Why do you want to know?"

Yuri shrugged. "No reason."

Ed turned to look at the sky. Instead, all he saw was Gunter's hair, so he went back to looking straight ahead. "We grew up in a pretty small town. Thanks to certain events in our country, things stopped happening there. For the most part, I just studied with Al. We'd play with a girl who lived nearby, too."

"Studied? What did you study?"

"What do you think?"

"What was the girl's name?"

"Winry."

"What's she like?"

"She's bossy and obsessive about making sure I don't ruin her work."

"Work? What work?"

"My arm and leg. She's my mechanic."

Just then, Gunter stopped his horse. Gwendal stopped as well, and they stood there for a moment in silence. Then Gunter turned off the road and began riding through the trees. Ed could hear Gwendal following. After a while, they stopped and got off the horses.

"What are we doing here?" Yuri asked.

"We're almost at the border. It would be best if we disguised ourselves now."

"Right."

They did absolutely nothing to disguise Ed other than wrap his arm and leg tightly with cloth. Once everyone had gotten disguised and all that, they continued on their way.

-------------------

After a while, the group ran into what Ed assumed was a border patrol. He assumed this because Gunter whispered into his ear that he shouldn't speak as they got off the horses. Ed stood quietly next to the horse, hands at his sides. Eventually one of the patrollers turned to him.

"Why is this one being so quiet?"

"Ah, that's my nephew," Gunter said. "He's been through some rough experiences lately…"

"I see. All right, you may continue."

As they got on their horses and continued down the road, Ed noticed something strange about the group. They were acting normal, but Ed could feel their eyes on him until his group had passed out of their sight.

They rode until they arrived at a small town. Ed looked around with little interest as Gunter tried to find a hotel for the evening. They had decided to travel during the day while in human territory.

Once inside a hotel room, Ed sat down and pulled out a small notebook he kept with him for alchemy notes. He'd come up with a few ideas during the journey, and he wanted to write them down. After a moment, Yuri came over and looked at the page Ed was on.

"Is that for alchemy?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just something I thought of today."

"You're really into it, aren't you?"

"I guess you could say that," Ed replied as he flipped through the book. "It's more that I have something I need to do."

"What do you need to do?" Yuri paused as he saw the look on Ed's face. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Ed shut the book and put it aside. "It's just something I want to fix, me making a mistake and trying to come up with a way to make things right again."

"Make things right?"

Ed nodded. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep now."

"Yeah, I think I will too. Good night."

"Night."

----------------

Yuri woke up to a heavy thud in the middle of the night, followed by a cry of surprise. He got out of bed and kneeled down next to Ed, who was on the floor, rubbing his head.

"What the… Ed, why are you on the floor?"

"Guess."

"Did you fall off your bed?"

Ed stood up and sat on his bed. "Yep. Sorry I woke you up."

"That's okay." Yuri turned and looked at the door. "I thought it might have been something wor-" Before he could finish his sentence, Yuri felt a hand on his mouth and found himself being pulled to the ground.

"Shh. Someone's out there," Ed muttered before he let go of Yuri.

"It's probably just Gunter or Gwendal," Yuri whispered back.

"No, if it were one of them, they would have come in by now."

"You sure?"

"Positive. They said they had a key to this room, remember?"

"Ah, right. Then who is it?" Yuri asked.

"My best guess would be those guys we ran into earlier today."

Yuri was about to ask another question when Ed covered his mouth again and pushed him to the floor. Just then, the door opened and Yuri could hear voices. Indeed, they did belong to the patrolmen they had met earlier in the day.

"You sure that gold-eyes is staying in this room?"

"That's what the innkeeper said."

"Well, they don't seem to be in here."

"Let's take a look around. Those beds have definitely been slept in. They couldn't have gotten far."

"Shit…" Ed muttered so that only Yuri could hear him, just before someone tackled Ed and pulled his hands away from each other. Yuri was about to help when someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.

"Hey, what should we do with this kid?"

"Just leave him here. He isn't one of the fugitives we're looking for."

"He'll probably complain about what we're doing."

"Then explain the situation to him and meet up with us later."

"Yes, sir."

Yuri watched helplessly as the group pulled a struggling Ed out of the room and closed the door. Then the man who had grabbed him let go and sat him down.

"Sorry about all this. It seems your friend is part of a band of fugitive convicts who escaped from a prison in the south several weeks ago."

"What? That doesn't make sense, he's been with me for more than a few weeks…"

"Really? Well, we can't be taking any chances. His physical characteristics are a perfect match, and the fact that he can't speak…"

"He can speak!"

"Then why did that man say he couldn't?"

"He never said he couldn't speak…"

"Either way, it's suspicious. If you want to make a case, then come to the court house in this town," the man said, giving Yuri a piece of paper with a name on it. "We'll listen to your story."

Yuri watched, stunned, as the man left, closing the door behind him.

-------------

Yeah, I'm thinking the chapters in this story are going to be pretty short…


	5. Chapter 5

YES AN UPDATE!!!!!!! WHOOOOOO!!!

---------------

I. _E. coli_ O157:H7 should not be affecting nearly as many Americans as it has been.

II. Arguments for

A. Living without food is impossible, and the majority of people in the US eat meat.

B. While it is possible to cook your own food, many people are unable to do so and depend on the competence of others. "Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the USDA chose meat suppliers for its National School Lunch Program on the basis of the lowest price, without imposing additional food safety requirements." Pg. 218

C. E. Coli is potentially fatal. To not give a warning is almost the same as poisoning someone.

D. Contamination is preventable. " "I could always tell the line speed," a former Monfort nurse told me, "by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office." Pg. 174

E. There were 500,000 deaths due to E. Coli

F. Lee Harding

III. Arguments against

A. Prevention is expensive for the plants; the price of meat would rise.

B. It is the buyer's responsibility to educate him/herself about E. Coli.

C. As long as meat is cooked thoroughly, it is easy to avoid sickness.

D. Become a vegetarian.

---------------

APRIL FOOL'S!!!!!!! Ha, I gotcha, didn't I?


	6. ffffffffffffffffffffffff

Oh man I am so sorry three years what the hell okay here you go more of this shit oh man I am so sorry jeez

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Ed sat in front of a desk and waited for the man sitting before him to speak. When the man did speak, Ed became very worried about the man's sanity. Then he thought about where he was and wasn't quite as worried about a possible lack of sanity. It seemed to be very common, and for the most part, not threatening.

After a very long rant about jello, during which Ed had a chance to use the bathroom, the man became serious. "Well then, I see you've finally arrived, Sir Elric."

"_Sir_?"

"Why yes, the son of the famous lord Elric from the country of Rearigfsbdv, far to the south."

"Rearigfsbdv?" Ed tried not to laugh as he repeated the word.

"Yes."

_What the hell? That's got to be the stupidest name for a country I've ever heard_, Ed thought as the man stood up.

"Well then, I have promised your parents that I would send you home should I find you around here, and that is what I shall do. Your friends have been told you are a criminal; if you hadn't chosen to accompany demons they would have been told the truth, but alas, we must capture them and take them with us on our trip to Rearigfsbdv."

Ed snorted. A name like that seemed to fit in perfectly with this strange world. It was just too funny for Ed to keep a straight face. After a while, he composed himself and put a serious look on his face. "And what makes you think I'm this… Sir Elric you speak of?"

"Your eyes. Everyone knows that golden eyes and hair together are a trait of the Elric family, and besides, I've met you before."

"Well… I have no idea who you are, so…"

"Of course you wouldn't. It's been years since our previous meeting. You've become so handsome, Alphonse."

Ed did a double take. This was definitely an unwelcome coincidence. He'd never get used to people calling him Alphonse. "Um…"

"Come along, young sir, we must get you ready for your journey. Your brother Edward will be very happy to see you."

.,.,.,.,.,,.,..,.,,.,.,.

"He's a fugitive?" Gunter asked incredulously after Yuri told his story.

"That's what they said, but it can't be true, right? I mean, Ed's been with me for longer than they said he's been on the run."

"It's a trap," Gwendal said. "They must know you're here, Your Majesty, and they want you to slip up and bring up the fact that you're a demon."

"Why would they do that instead of just capturing me in the first place?"

"This town has had problems with people being arrested without a good reason. It would be easier for them to take Edward because he's more suspicious with his arm and leg. Besides, he's so thick-headed that he won't exactly be the picture of innocence."

Yuri sighed. Gwendal was right. Ed would probably make things harder for all of them if he didn't think things through, which Yuri had a feeling he wouldn't. "But I can't just leave him there."

"Yes, you can."

Both Yuri and Gunter glared at Gwendal, who just shrugged. "He'll figure it out on his own. We just need to wait for him."

"How do you know he'll make it out on his own?" Yuri asked.

"Because, first off, he wasn't really arrested. He was simply mistaken for someone else, the son of a nobleman in a country to the south. This nobleman happens to have the name Elric as his surname."

"How do you know that?"

"They're talking about it in the streets. I just opened the window and listened."

Yuri wondered when Gwendal had opened the window, but he chose to ignore that question. Instead, he focused on the issue at hand. "So now what?"

"We'll get a message to him to meet us at a spot just out of town, and-"

"Wait a minute," Gunter interrupted. "The Elric family lives in Rearigfsbdv, right?"

Gwendal raised an eyebrow. "That's right."

"Isn't that our destination?"

Yuri gasped. "That's right. What should we do, then?"

Gwendal looked out of the window again. "We'll just have to ask them to listen to our side of the story."

.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.

Ed sat miserably in the small courthouse, waiting for Yuri to inevitably show up and try to get him free. He realized it was a trap, but he couldn't do anything about it. They had bound his hands for the effect, so theoretically he could use alchemy, but there were dozens of guards everywhere.

After a while, Gunter came running into the room and tried to get to Ed, but he was stopped. Ed watched in shock as the demon dramatically held his hand out to him. "I'm so sorry! I have failed you, my friend."

Ed's 'guardian' looked at Gunter in surprise. "Excuse me?"

Gunter calmed down and looked at the 'guardian.' "Young master Elric wished to venture into the demon country, and he practically begged me to take him there, and I couldn't resist… he's just too hard to say no to… so I had a couple of friends help me and we attempted to disguise ourselves as demons…"

The human narrowed his eyes. "So you really aren't demons?"

"Absolutely not! We are simply friends that wished to please Mr. Elric here."

Ed wanted to gag. Gunter was definitely acting strangely… but he was fine with it as long as it got him out of the mess he was currently in.

"I see. Well, if you're such great friends with young Alphonse…" Ed cringed at this. "Then we shall allow you to accompany us to his family's home in Rearigfsbdv. I'm sure Alphonse's family would love to meet the ones who have been taking care of their precious youngest son."

Ed groaned. This definitely hadn't been what he was expecting. After a while, they stuck him into a carriage with Yuri, Gwendal, and Gunter, and they headed south. As soon as Ed's guardian left, Yuri breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close."

Ed looked out the window to where a bunch of people were standing around talking. "So what, are we just going to go with it?"

"No, you're going to argue that you aren't who they say you are, and we're just going to act confused. Oh, and use a different last name. Elric is too…" Gunter trailed off.

"Right." Ed thought about it for a while. "But what made you decide to do this?"

"Because our ultimate goal is to get to Rearigfsbdv."

Both Yuri and Ed snorted at this. Gunter looked at them in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Yuri shook his head. "Not at all, Gunter. Um… Rearigfsbdv, right? Where exactly did that name come from?"

Gunter shrugged. "I'm not sure. I believe it was founded by someone named Flabíshnau… Are you sure you're all right?"

Yuri and Ed were shaking, trying very hard not to laugh out loud. It was funnier for Ed, but Yuri knew enough about English to realize just how ridiculous the names were. After a while, Ed managed to regain control of his amusement and tried to be serious. It was damn hard.

After a while, the one dude who was in charge of bringing Ed back indicated for him to come out and talk with him and some others. Ed stood and tried to talk to the man, but he was constantly interrupted and introduced to random people. Finally, he just gave up with being polite and stormed off. Of course, he didn't get very far, but it did get him some time alone with the man.

"Is something wrong, Alphonse?" he asked.

Ed scowled. "I've been trying to say something for a while, but so far I haven't had the opportunity. I'd appreciate it if you'd listen to me with no interruptions."

"Of course," the man said politely. "Go ahead."

Ed took a deep breath and began. "Okay, first off, my name isn't Alphonse Elric. My name is Edward Mustang and I have no idea how you could have confused me for someone I'm not."

"But your eyes–"

"I thought I asked you not to interrupt me," Ed said tersely, and he continued when the man shut his mouth. "The thing is, I barely know my family. My father left when I was young and my mother is dead. My brother and I have been on our own for around ten years now, and most of the time we're never in one place for very long. As a result, I barely know my heritage, and so there's a decent chance that my eye color could be a result of being distantly related to these people, but believe me, _I am not Alphonse Elric._"

"You mean… you lied to me?" the man asked, sounding horrified.

"No. I didn't lie. You didn't give me a chance to explain," Ed replied curtly.

The man looked at him for a moment before smiling and patting Ed on the back. "Nice try, Alphonse. It'll take more than that for you to get away again."

Never before had Ed wanted punch a man's jaw through the back of his skull so badly. Other than his father and miscellaneous military officials, of course…

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"So, now what?"

They were staying at some nobleman's house, and they were sitting around a small fireplace in the guest suite. Gunter had drugged Ed's 'guardian' so that they could have a few moments' peace. Ed was being quiet, however. He was just staring into the fire.

"We just keep doing what we've been doing, Yuri," Gunter replied. "As long as Edward continues to argue about his true identity, we should be fine."

"I don't know, I don't think Ed can take much more of this," Yuri said worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Gwendal said. "Just worry about yourself."

"I don't know, if this keeps up I'll either kill that guy or explode," Ed commented, making the others aware of his presence through this statement.

"Don't kill him, Ed," Yuri rebuked.

"At least not until this is over," Gwendal added dryly.

"I'll try not to," Ed growled.

"Bzuh?" the 'guardian' asked.

"Huh," Gwendal said. "I thought it would last longer."

"Well, I suppose you should get some rest, Alphonse," Gunter said.

Ed stood up and glared at the demon. "Don't call me that."

"Should we just call you Mustang, then?" Yuri asked.

"No. Never. Damn, of all the names I could have picked…"

"Why did you pick it if you don't like it?"

Ed shot Gunter a look that said 'shut up if you don't want to die,' and Gunter obliged. Seeing no reason to stay awake and listen to this any longer, Ed retired to his bedroom and sulked until he finally fell asleep.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

This story's craaaaaaaaaack. Rearigfsbdv and Flabíshnau are both results of me banging on the keyboard. Yar.


End file.
